Be Alert -- Elderly May Camouflage Depression

Dear Dr. Johnson: We hear much about suicide among young people. Why doesn`t anyone ever talk about it as a problem among the elderly? Do the elderly have a problem with suicide?

Suicide occurs in all age and socioeconomic brackets around the world. Recent statistics indicate it is a problem in the United States: About 12 percent of elderly Americans suffer from severe depression, and that group accounts for about 16 percent of all suicides in the United States.

The problem often is that depression is masked in the elderly by symptoms that are not as clear-cut as they might be in a younger person. So all of us who care for and are concerned about elderly people should be alert to the possibility of depression.

For example, elderly people often will not admit to being ``sad.`` But they will demonstrate problems that may be depression-related, such as excessive concern about their physical health, withdrawal from usual life functions, feelings of fatigue or apathy, etc. It is a mistake to think of depression simply as sadness because we will miss a lot of depression in all ages, particularly in the elderly.

Dear Dr. Johnson: I have noticed that my asthma often gets worse after a heavy rainstorm. I always have thought that rainstorms ``clear the dust from the air.`` So shouldn`t I actually feel better after a rainstorm?

Many experts have noted the phenomenon of worsening asthma after rainstorms. Some suggest that this is caused by a heavy rain ``arousing``

pollen and fungus spores that would not otherwise have been in the air. So if the air is not cleared by a wind after a heavy rain, it is indeed possible that there will be more allergenic particles in the air than there might have been before the storm.

Dear Dr. Johnson: Is it true that women who get pregnant after age 35 are more likely to have difficulty during childbirth and are more likely to give birth to a child with birth defects?

There is statistical support for that contention, but experts stress the importance of individualizing pregnancy decisions at any age and certainly after 35. They often say that the general health of the mother is just as important--if not more so--than her age.

A woman past 35 contemplating pregnancy may wish to talk with her physician or an obstetrician about pros and cons but certainly should not think that pregnancy is undesirable after that age.

Nearly everyone has a general idea of what arthritis is--inflammation, achiness and stiffness in the joints--but a variety of misconceptions have taken hold. Clear, concise information can be found in Dr. Johnson`s booklet. For a copy, send $2.25 to Arthritis, Box 533, Palmyra, N.J. 08065. Make checks payable to Newspaperbooks.